Fantastic Beasts and The Ones Who Love Them
by tmomo
Summary: Kakashi's magic is one meant to protect and attack. KakaIru. AU. Magic. Kind of Harry Potter-y Written for the KakaIru 2017 Summer Round Fantasy/Sci-Fi Prompt 6: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke


_Fantastic Beasts and The Ones Who Love Them_

* * *

In his nice tweed suit and blue-striped tie, junior detective Kakashi Hatake pulled on his overcoat and headed out to work on this foggy Tuesday morning. The weather was not out of the ordinary. The only kinds of sky the small, mountain town of Konoha had was either foggy, raining or plainly cloudy.

All of the small, white houses were original homes from when the town was built with crawling plants that grew up the sides from the steep incline they sat on. Kakashi lived above a little shop in the middle of the small town and had to climb up the cobblestone roads to get to work every morning. Today was like any other and he nodded politely to the receptionist on his way in.

"Hatake, I've got a job for you today." His mustached supervisor was already handing him a stack of files and Kakashi prepared for another day of sorting, but to his surprise, the graying man ushered him to the door. "They need help over down in Mizu. There's been sightings of a inexplicable creature and I thought it would be best to send someone with a background from the Academy."

"A creature?" The boss gave him a pointed look which told him that it was most likely a magical beast that had strayed away from the dark forests. "I'm on it, sir."

"Find Officer Peters when you're there." Kakashi bid him a farewell and tucked the papers under his arm, heading for the train station to catch the next one down to Mizu.

As trees whisked by the window, he read through the files that indicated recent sightings of different creatures known to Konoha. All the while, he was heavily conscious of the burn in his pocket.

Unlike the excitement coming from his wand, Kakashi was not in the least anxious to get to Mizu. It was only just a bit bigger then Konoha but still carried the same dull aura about it. By the looks of all the files he was reading, there was most probably a Kneazle or a wild Crup.

This was going to be a very short meeting indeed.

Stepping off the train with the files under his arm, he didn't even need to look at the little map of the town to know where the police station was. He was stepping slowly through the town when he realized he hadn't seen a single person outside.

At the station, the front door was locked and he was at a loss. This was certainly out of the ordinary.

He stood there for a second, musing what to do, before sneaking out his wand and tapping between his eyes, "I spy with my little eye… Jamison Peters."

Off in the distance, a white red spot started to burn in his vision. Kakashi dropped his files into the mailbox for safe keeping and headed through the town towards that spot. The nearer he got, the more he could start to see flashing lights from the town's two police cars and the red-outlined Peters.

"Officer," Kakashi called to them and they both looked relieved to see him.

"Finally, someone who can put this thing to rest." Peters motioned him forward and pointed to the little alley that led to the backyard of the house they were in front of. "It's back there. It wandered in last night and now it attacks anyone who comes near."

"Attack?"

The officer nodded. "Almost killed the butcher's son. The poor kid didn't even see what hit him."

"Yes, almost killing," Kakashi of course didn't believe that a little Kneazle could kill anyone or a Crup for that matter. It was funny how people from a small town could blow a situation out of proportion, he thought as he stepped around the side of the, brandishing his wand again. "I'll take it from here."

"Be careful, young man. Don't get too close."

"Yes, yes," he barely listened as he stepped down the foliaged path to the backyard, pressing open the door, saying, "come on, my little Kneazle. Come to daddy…Oh. You're not a Kneazle."

Standing in the middle of the yard with its head turned away, Kakashi saw the deep black body of a thin, skeletal horse. He quickly had his wand at the ready and watched the creature whine and turn to him. Its white eyes met his and suddenly it reared up, flapping its wings violently and running straight for him.

With a flick of his wand, he slammed the door shut in front of the beast and backed down the alley in preparation. Had he heard about this creature? Yes. Had he ever faced one before? No. And he wasn't about to be caught off guard for this one.

The skeleton creature slammed into the door again and again until it finally burst out and it came running at full speed towards Kakashi. His hand was at the ready, preparing to mumble his Baubillious charm at the lowest level when he heard a loud call to his right.

"Deprimo!"

The wall between him and the skeletal horse suddenly basted out and threw him off his feet. Out of the smoking hole in the fence stepped a figure in black robes and what looked like an Academy uniform, colourful tie and all.

They whipped around to the two officers who were cowering by their cars and shouted, "immobulus!"

The officers suddenly stopped moving and Kakashi pulled himself up from the ground just in time to see the young man's robes flutter as he reached out for the beast that had stopped and was rearing up. In his gut, Kakashi knew exactly what the person was about to do and grabbed the stranger's wrist just as they used their apparition spell to teleport themselves, Kakashi and the horse away.

They fell hard, landing on hard roots. With the wind knocked out of him, the new detective determined that he was in a forest; the dark forest to be more specific.

"Ostium pacem!" The Academy student had cast the new charm in front of him and a swirl of purple energy suddenly whisked from his robes up to the tip of his wand. It swirled around the end before hovering in the air like a feather. The creature from the town had been screeching and about to run away but froze in its steps once it saw the light, breathing heavily.

"Good boy," was murmured softly. The figure that Kakashi could now see was a young man indeed from the Academy turned to Kakashi, holding the ball of glowing purple energy in the air by the tip of his wand as if it were a basket ball.

Squinting passed the light, Kakashi had the faint sense he knew this person who was now standing menacingly over him. "Oi. Dickhead. Get off your arse and apologize for almost killing him."

Shielding his eyes from the light, he realized he did know those robes and that angry-as-can-be frown. "Iruka?"

Iruka was taken aback and cocked his head. "Do I know you?"

"I think so."

Frowning harder, Iruka simply was confused now and reached out to pull Kakashi up from the ground. "I don't…. Oh! No, it can't be."

"Yes, in the flesh."

There was a big grin on Iruka's face and he shook his head in wonder, shaking Kakashi's hand. "I can't believe it. It's been too long, Hatake."

"I could say the same. Although, I don't miss your spells as much as I thought I would." At those words, Iruka let go of his hand and turned stony.

"Well, I don't particularly miss yours either. I could practically hear you casting a bolt." Turning back to the stunned horse, Iruka reached out ginerly and petted its snout. "Do you know how rare these poor babies are?"

"No, but it nearly killed a child."

"Nearly. Nearly being the keyword there." Iruka pointed his wand directly at Kakashi's face threateningly. For a second, Kakashi had forgotten how dangerous Iruka could be but was reminded by the fire in his eyes.

"And do you know why it hurt a child?"

Before Kakashi could even respond, the student was already winding up the ball of purple and throwing it up into the air so it could slowly sink down and free up his wand. "The poor beast is hurt."

Turning to the creature, Iruka used one hand to pull out of one the wings, revealing a tear in the thin membrane. "Vulnera Sanentur."

With a touch of his wand, the tear began to slowly close over itself and heal unbeknownst to the dark horse that was enraptured by the glowing purple ball.

"What is it?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask. He didn't remember learning about this kind while at the Academy. There wasn't much remembered from his biology courses, but he did retain almost every offense and defense spell. Of course, he almost remembered Iruka and the rest from their band of friends and the adventures they'd go on.

"It's a Thestral. Very rare and very endangered." Iruka turned to him and gave a small smile. "Their tail hair is used in some of the most powerful wands. Not that you'd need one of those."

"Thank you," the compliment had almost made him blush, but he turned his attention onto more pressing matters. "So, why this one? Why are you here or… Why was it in the village is a more important question, I suppose."

"We were caught by a Thunderbird." Iruka's eyes were bright with excitement and he grinned. "Remember how we stole a Thunderbird egg back in first year? Well, my first year. Your fourth year, I think. Same beast and it remembered my ugly mug."

Oh, that was a tale indeed. It was one that Kakashi could never forget. It wasn't hard to when a Thunderbird finds you in its nest and chases you off a cliff into a lake. He didn't remember what they had done with the egg. "Wait, we? You were riding this thing?"

"Of course. Thestrals can get you from the Academy to Kumo and back in less than five minutes." Iruka patted the side of the horse lovingly. "Beautiful creatures."

"Where were you going?" Finding the courage, Kakashi stepped up to the entranced creature and studied its skeleton frame and how the skin seemed like it could be pierced by the touch of a finger.

"Well, nowhere really." Iruka seemed lost in thought for a moment. "We had been looking for something, but we kind of got lost along the way and… Well, I didn't mind flying away."

"Sounds lovely."

"Want to try?" Iruka's away said come hither and his smile promised adventure that Kakashi knew would definitely would be kept. He took a step forward.

"Where would we go?"

The grin on Iruka's face grew and he knew that meant he asked the right question.

"Anywhere we wanted to." Iruka patted the horse in motion for him to get on and Kakashi started over.

"You know, it's good seeing you again." He said sincerely, stepping up to the horse and into Iruka's personal space. "Shouldn't you be done with school by now?"

"Last year. I've been a good boy. Helped the school with my research of magical beings. Spells and protection is your specialty. Mine is creatures and biology." There was a sense of pride and Kakashi could imagine all of the notes and information he'd gathered over the years. All the adventures they'd been on, Iruka could probably fill books upon books.

Iruka fixed Kakashi's tie in a manner that had Kakashi blushing. "Let's on an adventure then."

With a whirl of his cloak, Iruka swiftly dispelled his calming charm and lifted himself onto the back of the horse who huffed and shifted but didn't mind.

It was just like the old days and the look Iruka gave him made him feel like he was a teenager again. There was an excitement and a promise in him. It told him that there was more magic than he had seen in years waiting for them. He remembered all the trouble their group used to get into as kids. From the time they stole Hiruzen's MasterPages and accidentally teleported to the middle of Japan to finding long-forgotten passageways that led to old houses, there had been nothing more exciting. When Kakashi had graduated, he had big dreams of following in his father's footsteps and becoming on officer of the Arts but that dream hadn't been as great as he'd first thought. The small town of Konoha couldn't compare to the bigger cities that lay beyond but it was where Kakashi had gotten stuck.

There were so many regrets that he'd pushed down. He now dreamed of having just one more chance to go back to how things used to be. It was such a sweet yearning.

"I guess I tag along." He couldn't let this chance slip away.

Patting the space behind him, his old friend smirked, "come on, then."

After hesitating, he undid the last button on his coat so he could maneuver albeit stiffly onto the horse as Iruka had. "So, where are we going?"

There was a shrug and Kakashi only had time to be thoroughly worried before they shot up into the air faster than an airplane. Once the force of the winds wasn't as strong, he found that they were high in the air and the land below then was passing by quickly into territory that looked far from familiar.

As much as it felt comfortable to have his arms around Iruka's waist and the breeze through his hair, the looming thought that this might compromise his job was a bit unsettling. He realized that he might have been carried away by the Iruka's charm; spell or not. Calling into the winds, he asked, "Iruka, are you sure you don't have a destination in mind?"

"No!" Iruka grinned back at him. "Well, not a specific destination at least."

"So, what are you looking for-" The wind suddenly blew even harder and they both cried out when they suddenly started to fall.

Still on the horse, they were not racing towards the ground, yelling at the top of their lungs until they slowed down to a smooth stop. They were left panting and blinking back the tears that the wind had made.

"Wh…" Taking a deep breath, the detective finally was able to see their surroundings and found a very familiar waterfall. They weren't far from the Academy at all now. As the Thestral stood at the edge of a small patch of rocks, Iruka patted Kakashi's leg. "Scoot off."

Kakashi slid off almost awkwardly onto wobbly legs and Iruka slid off with grace like he was born on a horse. With a feeling of awe, Kakashi watch from his distance as Iruka stood in front of the horse slowly and made eye contact as his hand slowly came up to stroke its mane.

"Thank you," it was a soft whisper, as if iruka didn't care if the horse heard it. "Goodbye."

In the blink of an eye, the horse turned and trotted away before giving a great leap into the sky. That left Kakashi staring at Iruka in wonder for a brief second before coming back to reality.

The trees around them were the same tall and dark ones he remembered. Just beyond the ridge of this mountain, the Academy was sitting under many docile but protective layers of charms. But in this one grove of trees and flowing water, there were small glimmers of light and dust that shifted in the air. This place was teeming with magic that was more natural than anything Kakashi had ever felt and it was soothing.

He glanced over at Iruka who was scanning their surroundings carefully. Comparative to the Iruka that he remembered, this one was much more mature. He doubted that Iruka had been so handsome before but he did remember Iruka's cheeks being chubbier and squishable. Now, they were gone and he could see a confident and sharp jawline.

"It should be around here somewhere." Iruka was musing and Kakashi stepped up to follow Iruka's eyesight.

"What are we looking for?"

"Hmm?" Iruka looked over at him curiously but impressed that Kakashi actually wanted to help. "Well, we're looking for ashes at the moment."

"Ashes?"

"Come on!" Iruka suddenly scuttled off their outcrop of rock and precariously ran along the river's edge up to where the waterfall was roaring.

Up near the waterfall, Kakashi saw the small alcove behind the falls that his friend had spotted. They inched carefully into the small tunnel until they found what seemed like a nest of burnt wood and leaves. As Kakashi was about to ask what this was, there was a spark from the pitted center and Iruka hushed excitedly as he gripped Kakashi's arm, "it's starting. Look, look."

At a closer look, Kakashi was able to see in the center of the leaves and wood that the was indeed a mass of ashes. As they looked on, small flecks of dark red and crimson started to shift under the first layer as the center of the black flecks shivered. As the first layer fell away to dust, a small beak poked out and squawked.

"A Phoenix." There was now a tiny, wrinkled little baby bird in the middle of the ashes that was glowing faintly and Iruka lightly blew on the bird's head, stoking its flames and brushing away the old embers of its last form.

"It used to have a broken wing. Now, it can start anew." Iruka looked at him and he smiled, outlined by the sound of rushing water and the glow of the new flames. "Do you remember how to Apparate?"

"Teleport? Of course." Kakashi pulled his wand out again and felt a smirk pull at his lips. "What kind of wizard would I be if I couldn't Apparate?"

Pursing his lips, Iruka's frustrated smile was priceless. "Good to see you still haven't changed."

"You too," Kakashi sent Iruka a wink. "Where to?"

"The Academy, please. Back door." Still slightly peeved, Iruka bent down and scooped up the little ball of ashes and fuzz in his arms as Kakashi touched his arm and blinked them away to a familiar place.

Kakashi huffed in amazement and let the nostalgia of the years that he'd spent here flow over him. The walls around the whole school that were covered in ferns and vines only had two openings but Kakashi remembered all the times they had hopped over the walls to get in and out. Directly in front of them was the back entrance of the school that arched up high and revealed the back courtyard and the different hall ways that fed into the school itself. Beyond all of that, he could see the high walls of the different wings of the school and their spires.

The leftern most spire was the most familiar to him: his old dorm.

Without realizing it, there was a small smile on his face that Iruka happened to catch. Iruka tugged on his sleeve and started to pull him away from the Academy entrance and into the forest that surrounded it. "Let's get this baby home. It's starting to get hot."

After a quick trek through the tall trees, they came upon what looked like a small shed at the base of a thick tree that Iruka walked up to without much care and quickly stepped into. Cautiously following at a distance, Kakashi entered the little wooden hut to find that the inside definitely did not match the outside.

"Whoa." Instead of being a small, cramped room of wooden walls that he expected, the hut was actually an enormous forest enclosed in the same wooden planks of the shed. The ceiling was just taller than the tallest of the trees and, if you looked straight ahead, you couldn't see the other end of the magical enclosure through the trees. To his left and right, the walls expanded as far as the eye could see and Kakashi followed Iruka in a right-ish direction.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Iruka looked back at Kakashi with a proud smile. "Hiruzen showed it to me last year… Before he passed, of course."

"What is this place?"

"It used to be the old groundskeeper's shed but it got a little," Iruka searched for the word, "overgrown. There were tons of different plant species and more of them were so dangerous that no one wanted to go near it. It was a lot of work to get it to this."

"I'm impressed." It truly was a place buzzing with life and beings that muggles would never have even dreamed of. Through the trees, different squawking and buzzing could be heard in the distance and occasionally Kakashi would get the feeling of being studied.

"Ahn!" With the squeal, Iruka started hurrying through the trees. "Hot!"

Following the trail of smoke that was coming from Iruka's robes, Kakashi could see a tiny body of water; the smallest pond he'd ever seen. Beyond it, Iruka was setting down the burning baby Phoenix into a cave-like hole in an outcrop of rocks that was almost as tall as himself.

"There you go," Iruka dusted himself off and smiled. "Safe and sound."

"You were saying that you're giving the school your notes now?"

With a nod, the younger man stepped closer. "Mhm, they're going to be hiring a lot next year too. A lot of teachers have moved out into the big cities to teach magic to muggles according to new government standards."

There was a pointed look in Kakashi's direction, "I hear they're hiring for charms professor too."

"Oh?"

They were stepping out of the shed now and back towards the Academy. This was an interesting opportunity. Kakashi really did have a fondness for his alma mater. Teaching though… That was a big step. What would he even teach?

"They're actually pretty short on staff." Iruka was musing out loud. "Hah, imagine the two of us working together at an actual job."

"I mean, I don't know if I'm ready to settle down just yet."

"Of course not."

"Yes, you'll have to invite me on a lot more adventures before. And if we're not done by then, we'll have to be the coolest professors in school." Kakashi pulled out his wand and suddenly Apparated himself back to Mizu to clean up the mess they had left. He really hoped that exit looked cool because he couldn't bear to embarrass himself more in front of his high school crush.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed as much as I did writing


End file.
